Actually, from what I've learnt and discussed, Reagan ranks as one of the great presidents of the 20th century, up there (tho prolly a bit behind) FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Truman. I wouldn't say he was just there when the Cold War ended... he used a risky but successful gamble, building up arms, banking on the fact that the Soviet Union wouldn't be able to keep up. His Reaganomics, though partly responsible for a lot of the country's debt today, helped lift the nation out of a huge recession during the period. Morally, he was one of our less scrupulous leaders, and if you compare him to a lot of our other presidents this century, he actually ranks pretty favorably.
Reagan wasn't perfect, but I'd rank him as one of this century's great Americans. Greatest? Nah... prolly not.
But don't forget that FDR actually failed to bring the country out of the Depression for 12 years. It was more of the war that brought us out rather than the New Deal. And a lot of FDR's programs were extremely questionable in terms of Constitutionality and stuff. I'm not saying he was bad... but he was far from perfect as well. Heck, pretty much every president had his faults.
Anyway, what had my brother and I busting up during that JBL segment was what followed the Reagan intro... "JBL almost singlehandedly help lower illegal immigration into the U.S." accompanying a clip of JBL chasing after those illegal immigrants. Totally classic stuff right there.
